


Coming Home

by AnaiyaRhayne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:48:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29481720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaiyaRhayne/pseuds/AnaiyaRhayne
Summary: Hermione Granger wed Severus Snape after a marriage law came into effect...then ran in an effort to repeal the law and avoid possible consequences.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is a posting for Evil Author's Day....and this is a story that refuses to let me write any more for it. Before opening it up today to post, I haven't touched it in over 6 months. Enjoy :D

She stood at the door of the house debating whether or not to knock. It had been four years since she was last here. Four years since anyone had seen or heard from her. She had disappeared into the muggle world with nary a word. Being muggle-born, it was easy enough to do. She had emptied her Gringott’s account, changed all of her galleons into muggle money, and severed all ties to the magical world. The only thing that she left in her vault was her wand. 

Until today. 

The first thing she did after retrieving her wand was to glamour herself. If anyone she knew were to see her now, they would not know that she was the same bushy haired know-it-all that they thought they knew. After not using her magic for so long, she had trouble with the glamour at first, but after a few tries she was able to hold it for most of the day. She had spent the previous night arguing with herself about what to do, but she knew time was running out. There were only six months left to fulfill the Ministry’s demands. 

She sighed as she felt her resolve breaking. She couldn’t do it, not like this. The logical thing to do would be to send an owl to see if he was even willing to meet.  _ Not bloody likely, _ she thought to herself.  _ Not after I ran out on him the morning after we wed. _ Haunted by the thoughts of the past, she turned away from the door.

Right into her husband.

***** **Flashback** *****

_ “Kingsley, what in the bloody hell is this!” she exclaimed, slamming the paper down on his desk. “Choosing our spouses for us depending on our ‘magical compatibility?’” The last two words dripped with sarcasm. “Not even letting us magically bond with anyone else! Even betrothal contracts are being superseded due to this bloody law!” _

_ “Hermione, there’s nothing I can do,” Kingsley Shacklebolt replied patiently, his hands folded on the desk. He had already had this argument dozens of times. "Our magical population was severely dwarfed by the war and drastic measures had to be taken." _

_ “I understand that measures need to be taken,” Hermione snapped. “But I can’t marry  _ **_him_ ** _! I just can’t!” _

_ “Hermione, you don’t have a choice right now,” Kingsley replied, only his eyes betraying his calm façade. “You have seven days to do it if you want to remain a witch.” _

_ “But him?! Seriously?” she seethed, her cheeks flush with anger.  _

_ “Believe me when I say, Miss Granger, I am none too pleased with the law either,” a low voice drawled from behind them. “But I will do what I must to remain what I am: a wizard.” _

_ The pair jumped and turned towards the fireplace. Standing in front of it, looking calm and collected, save for the burning in his eyes, was Severus Snape.  _

_ “And here I thought you were a brave Gryffindor, Miss Granger,” he continued, his own anger thinly veiled. "Obviously I was mistaken." _

_ They had wed that very day and woodenly consummated their marriage that night thanks in no small part to copious amounts of Firewhiskey. By the time he had awoken from his drunken stupor late the next morning, Hermione had already disappeared from London.  _

***** **End Flashback** *****

“Is there something I can help you with?” his cold voice sent familiar shivers down her spine. 

“Um, n-no, I-I don’t need any help,” she stammered, her eyes wide with fear. She silently hoped that her fluctuating emotions didn’t cause her glamour to fail. She could feel tears starting to form and quickly blinked them away as she quickly made her way past Severus. “Um, e-excuse me.” 

The fates were not with her as she felt him stiffen when she accidentally brushed his arm moving past him. She let out a low sigh, bowed her head, and closed her eyes.  _ Shite, shite, shite! _ She mentally cursed to herself. Coming into contact with him was the last thing she had wanted to do, but it was too late now. 

“Hermione.” His already cold voice had dropped several degrees in temperature. 

“I-I can’t do this!” she cried. The tears she had fought fell down her cheeks as she forced her feet to move away from him. “I’ll owl you later.”

“Where have you been?” he hissed, acting as if he didn’t hear her say anything. He lightly gripped her by the wrist and apparated her inside the house. He wordlessly and wandlessly put up wards to lock them in. “Do you have any idea -  _ any idea whatsoever _ what you’ve done?”

“Severus, let me go!” she exclaimed, tugging her wrist out of his grasp. “Anyone could have seen that! What were you thinking?”

“What was  _ I _ thinking?” he hissed, looking at Hermione incredulously. Then he roared, “WHAT WAS I THINKING? No, Hermione, what were  _ you _ thinking when you ran off?”

“Obviously, I wasn’t thinking,” Hermione retorted, her cinnamon eyes flaring. “”I was scared, okay? I didn’t  _ want _ to get married! I didn’t  _ want _ to have sex with you! I didn’t  _ want _ to have to deal with this  _ asinine _ law! I was hoping I would be able to get it repealed before I came back.” She huffed, turning towards the door. “Obviously that endeavor, and all the others, failed, so here I am.”

“Do you think that  _ I _ ever wanted to get married?” he retorted venomously, loosening his grip on her wrist. “Especially to a swotty, insufferable know-it-all? No, I didn’t, but I did what I had to do to avoid Azkaban.”

"Avoiding Azkaban is exactly why I chose to leave!" Hermione exclaimed, pulling her hand back to herself. "I stayed away until I wasn't given a choice!" 

She pulled a well worn piece of parchment out of her beaded bag, thrust it into Severus's hand, and anxiously watched his face as he read, then re-read, the letter she had received from the Ministry. Even after his eyes stopped flitting across the words, his gaze stayed frozen on the document. Even through multiple layers of cloth, she could see the stiffness of his shoulders. He could have been mistaken for a statue with how still he sat, save for the shallow movements of his chest.

"If you don't impregnate me within the next six months, they'll send me to Azkaban," her voice was hollow as she sank into a chair. She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head on her knees. "If it doesn't happen, I'll be the only one punished because I was the one who disappeared...like a coward."

“After everything you did to help defeat Voldemort, I would hardly call you a coward,” she barely heard his words through the rushing in her ears, but when they registered, she lifted her head in shock and met his passive gaze. “Scared, yes. Terrified, yes. But neither of those attributes, as negative as they may sound, make you a coward. Hell,  _ I _ was terrified when I saw your name on the bottom of the document I received. You’re nineteen years my junior, Miss Granger. I would have thought that there were so many others who would have been better suited for you...until I saw the percentage for the magical compatibility.” 

“Ninety-seven percent,” she quietly scoffed. She shook her head and let out a deep sigh. “The highest percentage that had been recorded at the time. According to the numbers, we’re an even better match than Harry and Ginny...and we don’t even like each other. Where did they get those numbers anyway? A seer? A scryer?”

“Arithmancy,” Severus drawled, finally taking a seat in the chair opposite Hermione. He leaned forward, rested his arms on his legs, and clasped his hands together. “If I remember correctly, that was your favorite subject, was it not?”

“Yes, it was,” Hermione replied, stunned that he would know something like that. “How did you know that?”

“Please, Hermione, I was a spy,” Severus scoffed, giving her a look of disbelief. “And with Voldemort wanting Potter, I was tasked with keeping an eye on all three of you. I could tell you anything from how you take your tea to how you tie your shoes to your favorite spell to use.”

Hermione looked at Severus with a look of masked admiration, not realizing he had been watching her as closely as he had been. With his admission came a newfound respect for her former professor. As she sat across from him, her eyes glanced over his scar covered arms, his worn face, his tired demeanor. She frowned to herself, knowing that if the Wizengamot had really wanted to, he could have been facing Azkaban as well. Instead, because of her cowardice, there really was no other word for her fleeing, she was the only one facing the dark, dank prison. She raised her eyes to meet his own expecting to see a glare, but instead saw a small spark of amusement. She let out a small sigh knowing what she had to say next was going to be difficult, but it was unavoidable. 

“You want to know why I ran?” she kept her voice low as she dropped her forehead back down to rest on her knees. “I ran because I-I actually wanted to marry you...not because some asinine law told me I had to...but because I-” her voice hitched and she took a deep breath to calm herself before the next words fell from her lips. “Because I had just realized that I had feelings for you...and to see your name on the bottom of that parchment? It was as if the Ministry had delved into my innermost thoughts and splayed them for everyone to read...and it scared me senseless.” She chuckled into her knees remembering every thought that had sped through her mind. “Some Gryffindor I am, huh? Face Voldemort head on? Sure, I have bravery to spare. Act on my feelings? Nope,  _ that’s _ when I run like a bloody coward.” 

Silence filled the room for several moments after her harried confession. She didn't move from her position, expecting to hear fading footsteps and a slamming door. What she didn't expect was to feel his long fingers weaving their way through the curls at the base of her neck, gently pulling her head up. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the rejection she was sure was in his eyes.

"Open your eyes, Hermione," the gentle and warm tone of his words surprised her enough to follow his whispered plea. Instead of the rejection she feared, she saw acceptance; instead of hatred, she saw love. He smiled gently at her, knowing it was a rare moment when she was rendered speechless. "My reaction that day you confronted Kingsley was not due to your name appearing on my parchment; it was due to the fact that you were being forced into a decision that I had hoped you would come to naturally, given enough time."

"What?," Hermione gasped in disbelief, looking up at her husband with wonder, silent tears streaking down her cheeks. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"I was planning to that morning," he admitted softly, his voice thick with emotion, cupping her cheek with his other hand. "But when I awoke, you were already gone and I lost my chance...or so I thought." He took a ragged sigh. “To be completely honest, I did search for you in the beginning, but after the third year of you being gone, I thought I would never see you again. I gave up looking, but I never stopped hoping that you would come back...that you would come home.” He swiped the tears off her cheek with his thumb. “Hermione, I have loved you since even before the marriage law was enacted,” his voice hitched as he confessed the secret he had kept for years. “You are the bravest, the most caring, the most intelligent person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Loving you is the easiest thing I have  _ ever _ done.” He leaned forward, placed a light kiss on her forehead, then buried his nose in the hair at the base of her neck. “Please, Hermione, my sweet Mia,  _ please _ tell me that you feel the same - that you love me, too.”

“Sever _ us _ !” she squealed, launching herself into her arms and nearly toppling him over in the process. She placed light kisses over his face in an attempt to show him how she felt. “Yesyesyes, I feel the same! Of course I do!!

“Hermione, please,” his breath was ragged as he pleaded with her. He pulled her up to him and wrapped her in a tight embrace. “I need to hear you say the words...please.”

Hermione pulled back slightly to look Severus in the eyes, searching their endless depths, then leaned forward to place a light kiss on Severus’ lips. He pulled her close again to deepen the kiss, making her moan. He continued gently pleading with her until she again pulled back to look at him. 

“Yes, Severus Tobias Snape, I love you,” she vowed, her voice thick with emotion. She dropped her Occlumancy shields so that he could enter her mind and see her memories. Every single memory included her admitting her feelings to herself, but then hiding them whenever she was around him, not wanting to make a fool of herself...or him should she embarrass him. He saw that she was content loving him from afar...until the letter containing the marriage law arrived with his name on the parchment. Her visit to and beratement of Kingsley had occurred the day after she received it. He now knew that her fury that day wasn’t based in actual anger, but more in fear that how she truly felt about Severus would be discovered. He gently withdrew from her mind and pulled her close again.

“Oh, Hermione, my sweet, brave Gryffindor,” he murmured in her ear, gently rocking her from side to side. “All we can do now is make up for lost time. Please, Hermione, may I have you? Properly, this time?”

“Yes, Severus,” Hermione pulled back to reply, smiling sweetly at the man in her arms.

She ran her fingers down the front of his robes before starting with the top button. She slowly unsheathed it, and the other buttons, from their holes. She pushed his robes off his shoulders onto the floor before gently untucking his shirt and unbuttoning it just as slowly. With each opened button, she kissed the skin that was revealed. She pushed the shirt to the floor once it was completely opened. She glanced up and saw fire in her husband’s eyes. She smirked as she took the button of his trousers into her hands, making sure to lightly brush the bulge that was rapidly growing under her ministrations. She opened the button and slowly lowered his trousers to the floor, silently cheering when she heard him audibly moan. She lightly ran her hands up his body as she stood back up, causing him to moan again. She was only slightly surprised when he gently grabbed her wrists to make her stop. 

He lightly put a finger to her lips when she opened her mouth to say something. He kissed her softly on the mouth, then slowly kissed his way down her jaw and neck. His lips only momentarily left her body when he played with the bottom hem of her shirt before gently pulling it over her head. He was pleasantly surprised when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra, and gently suckled on one nipple for a few seconds before moving over to the other one, showing it the same attention. He gently kneeled in front of her and, starting at her ankles, slowly ran his hands up her legs. He gently lowered her skirt, leaving her standing in front of him in nothing but her knickers. Standing back up, he again captured her lips with his and gave her a kiss that set her insides on fire.

“Bedroom?” she finally moaned, shivers running up her spine and heat spreading through her abdomen. She squealed as he swiftly picked her up bridal style and made his way to his - now their - bedroom, his lips never leaving hers. 

He gently set her in the middle of the bed, kneeled in front of her and slowly started kissing his way up her body. He paused for a moment when he reached her knickers, then hooked his fingers on either side and slowly slid them down. Once they were on the floor, he gently ran his tongue through her slick folds and used the tip to circle her clit, causing her to loudly groan. He circled it a few more times before flicking it directly with his tongue, making her spasm in pleasure. He took a finger and, after wetting it with her own juices, slowly slid it inside of her. He moved to kneel beside her as a second finger joined the first and his thumb slowly strummed her clit. It wasn’t long before he started feeling her inner walls pulsing around his fingers. 

“That’s it, Hermione, cum for me,” he purred just before hooking his fingers into the spongy part that he knew would make her fall instantly. He wasn’t disappointed when she screamed his name out in orgasm just a few seconds later. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Oh my love, you are so beautiful when you fall.”

“Severus...please…” she begged breathlessly, still bucking uncontrollably against his hand. 

“Please what, my love?” his whispered words caused chills to once again race up her spine. He was teasing her by rubbing himself through her folds. 

“I-I need you inside me, Sev,” Hermione strained to get the words out as another orgasm ripped through her. “Please…”

“All you had to do was ask,” he smiled softly, caging her head between his forearms before entering her slowly. She growled at his slow pace and softly bucked up into him. “Hermione…” he groaned in pleasure. He slowly sped up his pace, bringing her to the brink of another orgasm, before slowing down again. He lowered his head to kiss her, slowly pushing himself all the way inside of her. She again bucked up into him gently and mewled when he once again sped up. He could feel her inside folds fluttering again, so he asked her, “Do you want to cum again, love?”

“Yes, Severus...please!” she panted wiggling beneath him. “Please, please make me cum!”

“As you wish,” he whispered before capturing her lips with his. He snaked his hand down between her fold and started strumming her clit again. Between that and fully stroking in and out of her, she fell over the edge hard, gripping him so tightly that she ripped his orgasm from him in a shout. A low growl swiftly followed, and he attempted to apologize. “Hermione, I’m sor-”

“Don’t you dare apologize!” she lightly scolded, looking lovingly at her husband and placed a hand on his cheek. “I know it’s probably been a while. The last time for me was-”

“Our wedding night,” he whispered, finishing her sentence. He rolled off of her, pulled her to his chest, and placed a light kiss on her forehead when she looked up at him in shock. “That was the last time for me, as well.”

“Was there a fidelity clause in the contract?” Hermione looked up at him and asked, slightly ashamed that she actually hadn’t read the full document. 

“No, love, there wasn’t,” he answered as he pulled her close and placed a kiss on the top of her curls. “I chose to remain celibate because I was - and am - in love with you. You’re the only one for me, Hermione.”

“Oh, Severus,” Hermione sighed, curling herself into his side. “I never thought I’d hear that from you. You’re it for me, too.” She reached up and gave him a searing kiss. He gently placed a hand on the back of her neck and held her tightly to him with his other arm. 

“Hermione, I know we still need to talk about this,” Severus spoke quietly. “But I would suggest waiting until we can talk to Kingsley to see if we can push the deadline back to our anniversary. We both know that anything could happen in these six months and I’d rather have the extra time just in case you don’t get pregnant right away.”

“I agree, Sev,” Hermione replied, though she made no move to get off the bed. “But do we have to do it right at the moment? Or do we have time for another round?”

“Well…” Severus started to speak before being interrupted by a knock on the door. He stood up from the bed and quickly got dressed. “I was expecting Kingley over for lunch today to talk about - well, to talk about you, actually. Even though I stopped personally looking last year, I did have other people looking for you for me and I was going to let Kingsley know that one of my leads failed.” He looked down at his wife in adoration. “Though with you looking the way you did when I first saw you today, I can understand why no one found you.”

“I just thought of that poor disguise today,” Hermione confessed, as she quickly gathered her clothes and redressed. “I left my wand in my vault before I left and I only retrieved it today. I knew you’d be able to track me by my magical signature if I used it at all, so I left it at Gringott’s. Since I grew up as a muggle, that’s the world into which I disappeared.” She placed a light kiss on Severus’s cheek. “Do you want me to stay in here? Or do you want me to be standing with you when you open the door?”

"Stay in here, but disillusion yourself and use an eavesdropping spell to listen to us," Severus grinned at his wife mischievously. "When I tell him that I have a new lead to follow, that's when you slowly and silently come in and stand by my side."

Hermione chuckled and stood just inside the bedroom door as Severus went to answer the front door. Her husband wanting to play a small prank on the Minister was something she hadn't expected, but it amused her all the same. She stayed quiet as she listened.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Good day, Minister," Severus smirked when he opened the door. His smirk intensified when he saw not only Kingsley on the other side, but also Harry Potter.  _ Harry is going to shite when she comes out! _ He thought gleefully. "And hello to you, too, Potter. I was expecting only the Minister, but what brings you by?"

"I was hoping to see if you had heard anything about Hermione," Harry replied, shrugging his shoulders. "May I join you for lunch?"

"I don't believe that will be an issue," Severus answered, hiding a smile behind his trademark scowl. He could only imagine the look that would be on Potter’s face when Hermione came into the room. “How have you two been?”

“I’ve been doing fairly well,” Kingsley replied, sitting down at the table with his back to the door Hermione would be coming through, causing Severus to smirk gleefully. His smirk intensified when Harry took the seat next to Kingsley. “I’m honestly just hoping that you’ve come across any new leads concerning Hermione.”

“As it happens, I have a new lead to follow up on,” Severus mused, careful not to let his gaze flicker when he saw a telltale shimmer in the doorway. “As to whether it pans out or not is another matter entirely.”

“Why wouldn’t it pan out?” Harry asked, helping himself to some of the finger sandwiches Severus had summoned. 

“Because it’s the only clue I’ve had since she disappeared,” Severus replied, shrugging his shoulders. He felt Hermione’s hand brush his and knew that he would be revealing her soon. 

“What’s the clue?” Kingsley asked, intrigued. 

“Before I reveal the clue, I have a question for you,” Severus smirked. “When you were checking the muggle world, did you check Australia?”

“No, we didn’t,” Harry groaned, a look of realization dawning on his face. “I forgot she sent her parents there before we went out looking for the horcruxes.”

Both Harry and Kingsley jumped when they heard a snort that didn’t come from Severus. 

“Ah, yes,” a smile slowly grew on Severus’s face. “I did say I would reveal the clue. Well, here it is.”

Severus waved his hand...and watched as the blood drained from his guests’ faces when a smiling Hermione was revealed. 


End file.
